Author: Layla Hagen

Synopsis:

Aimee’s wedding is supposed to turn out perfect. Her dress, her fiancé and the location—the idyllic holiday ranch in Brazil—are perfect.

But all Aimee’s plans come crashing down when the private jet that’s taking her from the U.S. to the ranch—where her fiancé awaits her—defects mid-flight and the pilot is forced to perform an emergency landing in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

With no way to reach civilisation, being rescued is Aimee and Tristan’s—the pilot—only hope. A slim one that slowly withers away, desperation taking its place. Because death wanders in the jungle under many forms: starvation, diseases. Beasts.

As Aimee and Tristan fight to find ways to survive, they grow closer. Together they discover that facing old, inner agonies carved by painful pasts takes just as much courage, if not even more, than facing the rainforest.

Despite her devotion to her fiancé, Aimee can’t hide her feelings for Tristan—the man for whom she’s slowly becoming everything. You can hide many things in the rainforest. But not lies. Or love.

Withering Hope is the story of a man who desperately needs forgiveness and the woman who brings him hope. It is a story in which hope births wings and blooms into a love that is as beautiful and intense as it is forbidden.

Review:

There’s something raw and addictive about a book that forces two people to rely on each other for survival.  Since the elements around them can easily make today their last day alive.  They have to learn to work and trust one another to be successful.  And that forces them to become closer than ever imaginable.  This is why I love the idea behind survival stories.  And while Withering Hope was thoroughly entertaining, the writing style felt flat at times.  It left me desiring and wanting so much more.  I’m so sad, because that’s how I felt with On The Island also.  But if you’re able to look past that, then what you’ll find is an enjoyable story that is a lot of fun.

Aimee and Tristan, her husband’s private pilot, were on their way from the US to her husband’s ranch in Brazil.  So she could prepare for their upcoming wedding.  Yet all of her plans skidded to a halt when Aimee and Tristan ended up crash landing in the Amazon.  In the middle of nowhere with the bare minimum of resources.  They aren’t by any water that is drinkable.  The food that surrounds them could potentially be poisonous.  And creatures that are on the ground and even in the trees are lethal.  The odds are stacked up against them, and making it through each day is a true feat!

I liked watching Aimee and Tristan slowly become closer and closer as the days passed.  It was believable and realistic how their friendship unfolded.  We slowly got to learn details about Aimee and Tristan’s past, and that sparked some hope that maybe they could be something more.  Because the chemistry was most definitely there.  They just needed to take that emotional step too!  

So while the situation and the development of their friendship was wonderful, as I said before, the writing style wasn’t my favorite.  It left me struggling at times to make a connection to either of the characters.  And each time I thought that I was becoming immersed in the story, it’d pull me back out again.  I hated not being able to make that full connection to Aimee, Tristan and the story. *pouts*

But I will say that for those who love a solid ending, Withering Hope was perfect in that department!  You get not one, but two epilogues.  That was a truly wonderful experience!  But now I’m on the hunt for a survival story that is an emotional powerhouse!  If you know of any, please let me know because I’d love to give them a try!